Current-regulator



C. F. SMITH. CURRENT REGULATOR. APPLlcATloN FILEDk APR. 1-2.. 1-920.

Patented Feb. s; 1921.

UNITED STATES "PiLI'ENTl OFFICE.-

CHARLES F. SMITH, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA..

CURRENT-REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

Application led Alpril 12, 1920. SerialNo. 373,162. l

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F.l SMITH, a; resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania', have invented a new 'and useful Improvement in Current-Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric current regulators, and has particularly to do with regulators for controlling th supply of electric current to the headlig ts of autof mobiles and like Vehicles. The object is to 'provide a current regulator which will be the regulator; Fig. 3 a sectional'view taken on the line III-III, Fig. 2; Figs. 4 'and 5 sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines 1V-IV and VV, Fig. 3; Fig. 6 a sectional view taken on the line VI-VL Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 a view corresponding to Fig. 6, but showing a modification of construction.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the regulator mecha-y .nism is mounted within an elongate casing having sides 1, ends 1, a top 2 and a bottom 3, preferably constructed of sheet metal. The top, sides and ends may be pressed from a single sheet of metal, and the bottom may be .made separately and secured to the sides, as by means of screw bolts 4. Within the casing there are two plates 5 and 6 of insulating material which extend substantially 4from end to end of the casing. and are connected to each other and to the top 2 of thecasing by means of bolts 7. Between these plates there is arranged a :channel-shaped contact member 8 made of conducting material, the legs or flanges of such'member acting as a spacer between the plates. On the plate 5 there is mounted a rheostat, the resistance element of which preferably consists 'of a lcoil 9, to which there are attachedy la plurality of contact buttons 10 extending through the mounting plate 5 and arranged in longitudinal series. The contact button 10EL at the lower end of the series is attachedto a binding post 11, to which acircuit wire 412 is connected. The other circuit wire 13 is connected, as by means of a binding post 14, to the contact member 8. f

A movable contactor is mounted within the casing to control the flow of current from one or another of the buttons 10 to the contact plate 8. Such movable contactor preferably comprises av conducting plate- 15 arranged to slide between the legs of the channel 8 in 'continuous contact with the base lof the channel. A portion of the contact or plate 15. is slitand bent downwardly to .form a spring arm 16 adapted to bear yieldlngly upon the top of the contact buttons 10. By thus bearing upon the contact buttons, the spring arm 16 has the effect of yieldingly holding a movable contactor in contact with the rheostat buttons and the contact plate 8.

For moving the contact 15, it is preferably attached to a knob 17 by means of a screwed bolt 18 which extends through registering ing plate 5, the coil 9 is vented to the atm-os-` phere for cooling the coil: Y

To attach the regulator to the housing 20 of a steering rod, the sides 1 of the casingmay be extended belowthebottom 3 and may be provided with straps 21 and lugs 22, the straps being adapted to engage the housing and to be clamped to the lugs by means of screw bolts 23. As an alternate' form of construction, the bottom of the casing maybe made as indicated in Fig. 7:

As there shown the bottom 3 has straps 24 attached to it, which straps may be drawntogether at both their inner and outer ends by means of screw bolts 25 and 26. The provision of the two screw bolts for each pair of straps renders the `straps suitable for attaching the regulator to various sized and shaped rod housings, and by providing bottoms 3a with straps of different lengths, say about three different sizes, the main body of the casing and its contained current-regulator mechanism may be the same for all sizes of steering rod housings.

The regulator may be conveniently attached to the upper end of the steering rod housing as indicated in Fig. 1, the knob 17 being in a very convenient position for movement by the driver.` The conductors 12 and 13 may extend along the housing 20, through the dash-board 27, and be connected to a switch 28 mounted on the dashboard. V'Vhen the knob 17 is at its lowermost position, that is to say the position most remote from the steering wheel Y30, the full supply of current will flow through the conductor 12, binding post 11, Contact button 10a, arms 16, plate 15, channel 8, and binding post 14 to the conductor 13. By moving the knob 7 upwardly, the supply of current is reduced in proportionl to the amount of the electric resistance coil thrown into the circuit. When the arm 16 is in con tact with the upper button 10, the greatest resist-ance is thrown into the circuit, with the result that the smallest amount of current is supplied to the lamps. By using such a regulator, the headlight lamps may be of large candle power to affordbright.l

illumination when desired, and the intensityof the illumination may be reduced to various amounts depending upon particular requirements.

According to the provisions of the Patent Statutes, I have described the principle and operation of my invention, together with the construction which I now consider to' re resent the best embodiment thereof.

owever, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, my invention may be practised by other forms of construction than that par-` ticularly shown and described herein.

I claim: 1. A current regulator for automobile headlights and the like, comprising in combination, an elongated casing provided with means for attaching it to a. steering rod housing, a mounting plate of insulation within the casing, a rheostat attached to said plate and having a coil on one side and a series of contact buttons on the other side of the plate, a contact plate within the casing, and a movable contactor having an arm in continuous contact with said plate and another arm adapted to contact serially with said contact buttons.

2. A current regulator for automobile headlights and the like, comprising, in combination, an elongated sheet metal casing provided with means for attaching it to a steering rod housing and having a longitudinally extending slot, a mounting plate of insulation within the casing, a rheostat attached to said plate anc having a coil on one side and a series of Contact buttons on the other side of the plate, a contact plate attached to and insulated from said casing and provided with a slot registering with said casing slot, a movable contactor having an arm in continuous contact with said plate and another arm adapted to contact serially with said contact buttons, and an operating member attached to sind contactor and extending through said s ots.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. i

CHARLES F. SMITH. Witnesses:

PAUL N. CRrTcHrow, ALICE A. TnILL. 

